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Tweak says, "'Ere, 'e says 'e's not dead!"

Krista Landry ❤ Annie Cresta (poormadgirl) wrote in thereincarnates,
@ 2012-08-03 20:21:00

Entry tags:

alice clark, christian shipton

Who. Alice Clark and Christian Shipton
What. The reincarnates of Annie and Finnick go off in search of some sweeter nostalgia
Where. District 4, down by the sea
When. Saturday afternoon, August 4th 2012
Warnings. Adorableness and some unexpected violence? It will all make sense soon...

Christian had suggested that they go look for District 4 weeks ago, but it wasn't until a few days before that they'd officially settled on it. Annie and Finnick were desperate to see their home again, and Alice and Christian were just curious enough to go searching for it. Anything to feel some connection to their sources that wasn't marked by loss and grief. So much of their reincarnation's stories involved pain and heart ache in some way, and even now in their present lives. What had happened in the Arena to Jess and Hunter was still with them all, even if they didn't talk about it anymore, and it was nice when despite all that they could still find some bit of happiness somewhere.

For Annie, her bit of happiness had been the child she bore after she'd lost Finnick. Finnick's child. A small ray of light after she'd lost the love of her life. For Alice? For Alice, Finnick was mercifully with them again, and her bit of happiness in the midst of all the pain around them was finding a familiar beach with Christian. Some might have thought it irresponsible to go off like this by themselves, but there was no one she felt safer with. Some peace and quiet in the middle of war time was hard to find these days, and despite everything, she was happy for the first time in years. She pretty much owed that all to them.

Finding Finnick and Annie's old home hadn't been easy, but once they had, it was like Alice and Christian themselves had been there before. They knew every nook and cranny, which roads to take, whose fishing boat that was docked by the boat house. It wasn't hard at all to find their beach, the little alcove that Finnick and Annie had claimed as their own where they came together to be alone after love had taken hold of them. The sun felt nice on her skin, and Alice soaked up as much of it as possible after jumping in the water the second they'd gotten there. She didn't have a bathing suit, but she didn't care. Jumping into the ocean in her clothes felt as natural as breathing underwater, the people of District 4 were pretty much built to live under the sea if only they'd had actual gills.

"Christian, look!" Alice pointed a sand covered hand up at the sky, peering at it through curtains of wet, bedraggled hair from where she was reclining. There was one cloud in particular that she was pointing at that was shaped like a whale. A flock of birds flew through it, disrupting the tail and Alice grinned over at him. "Just like she remembers."

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creptuponme
2012-08-04 04:57 am UTC (link)

Finnick had been practically begging Christian to search for District Four from the moment he had gotten the young victor that fateful night so long ago. Back then it was Finnick's need to search for Annie that drove the incessant pestering for his home land; he'd been sure that if Annie were to be found, she'd be found in District Four. It had all been too overwhelming for the youngest Shipton at the time. Christian had been trying to come to grips with the reality he was now thrust into, one in which memories of being sold around the Capitol were ripe and only the tip of the iceberg in the tragedy that was Finnick's life. Now the drive was rooted in homesickness; since his reaping, Finnick's time in the home he grew up in was sparse. Between mentoring, his second games, and being sold off, he rarely got to see the rolling waves that signified happiness for him. Christian supposed he owed that small figment of bliss to the other man.

He had a traveling companion in Alice, and she took every bit of fear out of the entire experience. It was amazing how one person could easily change Christian's view on the world, especially with how stubborn he was, but it made sense that she was the one to do it. She was their Annie, only she hadn't crept up on him the way Annie had Finnick. Instead, she had hit him like the waves crashing on the sand just feet away from them, and he hadn't gone back. There was no need to.

"It's like nothing changed," Christian agreed, his sea green eyes locked on the cloud in which Alice was pointing. He had one arm tucked behind his head with warm sand on his bare back, clinging to his wet skin. The other hand was against Alice's; his knuckles barely grazed the back of her hand, but he could feel her there. It was a constant need of his when they were together, to have that reassurance that she was there through even a ghost of physical contact. It was Finnick shining through, of course. As many times as they'd been separated, he needed her when they were together.

A few feet away lay the trident Beetee had crafted for him, the control cuff attached to the wrist now hidden behind his sand-covered hair. It was only an outing to their district, but there was no sense in getting caught off-guard. That was the way Finnick's brain worked now; it was as if he were always in the arena, waiting in paranoia for the next show to drop. But Christian wouldn't question it, not when he was a soldier in a war himself and had seen first-hand his friends get taken and thrown to the fight when they were having leisure time.

"I can remember everything, it's weird. His dad showed him this beach when he was a kid, and he had a picnic with Annie right over there." He grinned, tilting his head to the side to look at her. "Lost his pants once here, too. Not purposefully."

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poormadgirl
2012-08-04 05:13 pm UTC (link)

Despite the recent danger of the Arena, it was far too easy to feel at ease here. That was only half because of District 4, the other half was definitely all Christian's doing. By all rights she should have been more on her guard, but Alice had never been the paranoid type. Neither had Annie, not really. After her time in the arena Annie had suffered from continuous bursts of severe PTSD, maybe more noticeable than some of the others, but most of the time she was just herself. Maybe not the same, you were never the same once you've been through the Arena, but her moments of perfect clarity weren't as few and far between as most tended to think. Of course, the person who'd always brought out the best in her had been Finnick after that. When they weren't together, things got muddled, but it'd been the same for him too. They were always stronger together.

Alice smiled faintly as she felt his knuckles graze the back of her hand, after a moment stretching her own fingers out and lacing them through his. Christian was like Finnick in so many ways, but there were so many things about Christian himself that had made Alice feel strongly about him too. He was kind, and thoughtful, and he wasn't afraid to show it with her. Not to mention she didn't know who else would be so willing to jump in the ocean in their clothes and lie here in the sand with her cloud gazing. She felt a special connection to him only forged because of the nature of their reincarnation that had allowed them to meet. It was all their own, but just like Annie and Finnick, one needed the other as much as the other needed them.

"Not purposefully?" Alice laughed at that, still grinning as she turned on her side, sand now clinging to the damp skin of her back and facing Christian to raise an eyebrow at him through a curtain of wet hair like Annie might have been raising her eyebrow at them too. It felt just like the walks Annie and Finnick used to take, when it could be just the two of them and the rest of the world didn't exist. Alice's own life hadn't always been a very happy one, but she hardly remembered that now. A wave came in that just barely reached the tips of their toes and made Alice laugh again as she questioned Christian in a mock serious tone. "How does one lose their pants by accident, exactly?"

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creptuponme
2012-08-05 07:23 am UTC (link)

It was one of many stories Finnick had shared with Christian in those first months, when he was trying to convince him that not everything about Panem was awful and evil. The good often got lost under Snow's black cloud, but there were good things, too. Good people. Good memories. "He was swimming, and it was windy so the ocean was rough. He got hit by this huge weight, and it flipped him all over the place. When he got up? No pants." In hindsight, Christian was sure Finnick spoke to him the way he tried to comfort Annie all those times she needed guiding back from the horrors they faced, and it mad sense. Christian was facing evil in his head at the time.

He shifted his weight, keeping her hand clasped in his own as he pushed himself onto his side. He could stay there for hours, something unusual for the constantly moving boy. But that was Alice. She brought out sides of him that nobody had ever been able to, and he felt himself not having to keep up the constantly sarcastic and happy front he'd adopted since he was old enough to cast off his parents' idealistic religious beliefs and way of living. Now he could let the walls down. Finnick liked to give himself and Annie some credit, but Christian liked to think they were only responsible for the introductions. The rest was him and Alice.

"My sister," he said, trying not to laugh. "Would be busting my balls so hard if she could see me right now." Which was truth. Christian was sure sometimes that Lillie was more of a boy than he was, and he was quick to point it out to her. Still, sometimes he wondered if he should be talking to her more about all of this. The more selfish side of himself wanted to keep Alice all to himself, and Finnick's paranoid side was sure that associating his sister and his girlfriend with each other when there was so much danger surrounding Lillie kept him from following through on his guilt.

He went quiet for a moment, reaching out with his free hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ears, but that wasn't enough. Not for him, not for Finnick. So he leaned in, making brief and gentle contact between their lips that only ended because he couldn't keep his smile reigned in. He could have stayed there forever if it was practical, would have even suggested camping out for the night, except that Finnick's brain was on the alert. Something wasn't right, and he was the first to notice it. He blinked, tilting his head to hear better. They'd been alone all day, the majority of this part of the district deserted, and the beach especially. It was Finnick's and Annie's secret haven; nobody else knew about it. But he definitely heard the sounds of muffled voices.

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poormadgirl
2012-08-06 12:41 am UTC (link)

"Your sister probably would. Want me to beat her up?" Alice flashed him a similarly uncontrollable smile, one that only grew after he leaned in to kiss her. It was a big step for Alice, being able to feel this comfortable with someone in order to be this physically close to them. Typically she never reached that point with anyone, it had always been hard for her to trust even those who meant well. But with Christian, that comfort had come on almost immediately, and that was definitely at least partially Finnick. Finnick Odair had been key in helping Annie break down her own walls that she'd put up out of self preservation, and Christian did the same for Alice now. He'd always made her feel safe and secure, and that was what she needed in order to be this close with him.

Now she couldn't imagine not being this close to him, so she kissed him back until he pulled away and she scooted closer to lean her head on his shoulder. They were both covered in sand that clung to them in wet clumps on their damp skin, and their hair and clothes were probably full of sand by now too, but she didn't care. Alice had never been bothered by that sort of thing, even less so now that she had someone with her to enjoy the day with. It really was a beautiful day. So much of what surrounded and seeped into the districts of Panem were dark and laced with death and depression, but here in District 4? It had still been possible for Annie and Finnick to find some small ray of light, even if that small ray of light was only a stretch of beach. That'd always been enough for them, and it seemed that it was also enough for Alice and Christian. Besides, they didn't just have this small stretch of beach. They had the whole ocean.

Alice turned her gaze on the waves, shielding her hand above her eyes to she could see better and so she completely missed when Christian got distracted by something else. She only noticed when she turned back to look at him and noticed the expression on his face. Tight, and lined with worry. Alice's smile dropped, and she looked at him questioningly. "Christian? What are you..." Then she heard the voices too, and on instinct she was sitting upright in the next instant, looking around for the source of the sound. Just in time for a few Peacekeepers to come around the corner.

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creptuponme
2012-08-06 11:04 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah. Could you?" Christian asked jokingly. The idea of Alice getting violent with anybody was laughable. He was pretty sure that she and his sister were complete opposites; Lillie thrived in violence, and Alice thrived in peace. He wasn't sure where he lay on that spectrum, but being around Alice and Annie made him feel enough like a better person that he was sure it made up for his less honest qualities.

Of course, those qualities were what kept Finnick alive. The lying. The secret keeping. The violence. Something he was going to have to tap into in order to get him and Alice out of this predicament they currently found themselves in. He wasn't sure why the scenario hadn't occurred to him, that there would be Peacekeepers in the districts that they should be weary of. Now he was silently cursing himself for letting himself get so comfortable and complacent it what he'd convinced himself was enemy territory from the time he got Finnick. The button on his cuff was pressed, propelling the trident easily from the ground into his hand and he stood in a defensive position in front of Alice.

If there was any doubt as to his identity before, there wouldn't be. The couple of Peacekeepers moved as though they recognized the pair now, and Christian grimaced. He needed a plan. They wouldn't be able to take on more than a couple of these guys without being caught. Okay, so maybe he had a plan then. Keep these assholes from calling back-up. So far it was just the two of them, and if they could keep it that way they could make a run for it.

"Stay really close to me, okay? We're getting out of here." With that, Christian sprung into action, throwing the trident with expert precision into the belly of the closest Peacekeeper. He made sure to keep a hand in Alice's at all times; he wouldn't lose her like Finnick did. He refused to let history repeat itself.

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poormadgirl
2012-08-07 01:08 am UTC (link)

Alice was immediately scared, though as soon as Christian stepped in front of her she felt safer. She knew he wouldn't let them hurt her just like she wouldn't let them hurt him, and it was the same for Annie and Finnick. Even if he couldn't be there physically, Finnick's love had kept Annie protected, kept her safe from the horrors she had to face by herself. No one knew for sure what had happened to Annie when the Capitol took her during the Quarter Quell, the details were between Annie and her captors (and Alice, but it was hard to keep anything from each other when they shared one mind). The only thing anyone knew for certain was that something had kept her alive, kept her going through the worst of her own personal hell, and that something had been Finnick Odair. They were each other's saving grace.

She only nodded when Christian spoke to her, whispering a hushed, "Okay," under her breath before he moved into action. She knew he would, and she knew he'd hit his mark. Christian and Finnick always hit their mark. The trident plunged into the midsection of one of the Peacekeepers who fell to the ground instantly, the other one not seeming to care that his fellow Peacekeeper had just fallen and kept advancing on them. Alice was still clutching tight to one of Christian's hands and more or less hiding behind her hair but when she saw him advance on Christian, she glared through a curtain of hair. They weren't allowed to take him from her. Not again.

Alice, the usually peaceful and pleasant member of the victor's club, reached with her free hand to the back of her head. Where her hair had previously been in a loose bun and now half of it was falling out of it in wet, messy strands, she pulled from the other half a small knife that masqueraded as a hair chopstick. She wore it almost every day, her own answer to self defense if there was no other option. Because of Camelot recon and events in Alice's own life, she'd needed that extra bit of security, but she'd never had to use it before today. She whipped the knife out of her hair and from her place behind Christian, she threw it with surprising expertise at the advancing Peacekeeper. It hit him in the throat, and Alice ducked further behind Christian like he might still come after her. "... That was close."

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creptuponme
2012-08-07 06:05 am UTC (link)

Christian should have been surprised when Alice threw the knife at the remaining victor, but he couldn't be. Even though Annie was the sweetest and most peaceful of the victors, she was still a victor. There was something about surviving the arena that forced people to be this way; she was just a lot better than the rest of them at keeping it buried until it absolutely had to come out. And as protective as Finnick was of Annie, it was exactly the same the other way around. She was his anchor, he was hers, and they kept each other safe. Always.

Besides, his trident was stuck in the belly of the man he'd thrown it at. Pressing the button on his cuff wasn't bringing it back because it was embedded, and as fit as Christian was from swimming? He was sure the remaining Peacekeeper would have taken him out if he'd had to fight with his fists. Both men down, however, allowed him to exhale the breath he hadn't known he was holding, and he tugged Alice over to the bodies to collect their weapons.

This would all hit him later, he was sure. Probably in his dreams where Finnick's memories of murder would intertwine with his own now. At that second, however, he kept his head in the game, looking around swiftly with his brain working in arena mode. Strategy. It was all about strategy. And luck. That was really what decided the winners.

"Come on," He whispered, moving at a crouch up a sand dune. When he heard voices again, he dropped down. He recognized that voice. Not in person, never in person, but he'd heard it enough times over stolen airwaves to recognize the voice of Robert Kingsley, which meant that the Resistance had their hands in District 4.

"I don't understand why this place is so...important to them all," Robert's voice sounded disgusted, and Christian wanted to embed his trident in his belly just for talking down about his home. "The outlying districts have barely any resources for us to gain from them. We'd spend more guarding them than we'd gain. The Capitol is the real profit. But I've been informed that there are reincarnates attached to this place. Start setting up security. Maybe we can draw a few of them out."

Christian's brain was reeling, and he looked over at Alice for help in clearing the fog. The Resistance was taking Panem? All of Panem? They already had the arena, now they would have everything. Including the pods, Snow's mansion. District 4. More importantly--and he had to focus on this--they hadn't set up security yet. They could still slip out unnoticed. "We have to make a run for it," He mouthed, nodding in the direction opposite of the small group of Resistance members.

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poormadgirl
2012-08-08 04:29 pm UTC (link)

Alice wasn't a victor in this life, but she'd had her own struggles that she'd had to overcome. Struggles that had left behind a fair bit of mental scarring, but she dealt with it in the same way as Annie did, apparently. She didn't bury it down, she just chose not to give into it. Sometimes she was overwhelmed, but she never reacted with anger and violence like it was her only option, until it was. Saving Christian was definitely that exception, because there had been no other way out of it. He was weaponless, and she had a weapon. Of course she was going to use it to save him, and even if it haunted her later, she didn't regret it. Put in a situation where you're forced to kill wasn't new for Annie, and Alice already understood the notion.

After the Peacekeeper's weapons, Alice's knife and Christian's trident had been collected, Alice moved quietly with Christian up the sand dune. She kept her hand firmly gripped inside his, shaking a little now that the combination of being scared and soaking wet had finally done its job of making her cold, but she barely noticed. She dropped down next to him at the same moment as he did, the voice of Robert Kingsley sending a real shiver down her spine and her breath caught in her throat. She didn't like the sound of his voice. If evil had a sound? That was it. That was the embodiment of evil in a single voice, and Annie knew all about evil. She'd met President Snow.

Despite the fact that she was now squirming uncomfortably, the moment Christian looked over at her for help she squeezed his hand a little tighter, offering him a genuine smile. Robert Kingsley could say what he wanted about District 4, he didn't know it, and he didn't know them. They could take what they wanted, but they'd never take the heart of Panem. The heart of Panem was in the minds and hearts of its people, and its people were getting out of here before something worse befell them. "We can do it," she whispered back, peering over at their enemies from where she was crouched next to him before looking back at Christian. "On the count of three...?"

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creptuponme
2012-08-08 07:59 pm UTC (link)

It was hard to wrap his brain around the fact that in a matter of minutes they'd gone from enjoying time on a beach to running for their lives. In mere moments, the Resistance had swooped in to take what belonged to Finnick and Annie, their small part of Panem that had been untouched by evil, and it was creating a quiet ache in his stomach that he couldn't get over. Finnick handled it better than Christian was; with a life full of constant disappointments and changes in quick instants, he was used to this type of thing. He didn't like it any better than Christian did, but he kept a better head about it. Giving up District Four meant keeping himself and Alice alive, and that was more important.

Focus, Christian. We can't survive this by dwelling on what we're losing.

"Yeah. On three," He finally nodded, a little too vigorously. His hair flopped into his eyes, and he pushed it out of the way angrily while he turned to stare at Kingsley again. The man was the human embodiment of all that was awful in the world, like looking at this war's gamemakers. For a second he envisioned taking him out, right then and there. One toss of his trident. But it was suicide. Sure, he'd take out one of the leaders of the biggest reincarnate terrorist organization, but all of his followers with him would take Christian out before he could move another muscle. And Alice. Alice would be the collateral damage to his risky endeavor, and he couldn't do that. Instead, he started counting down with his fingers, and as soon as all fingers were down, he took off running.

It wasn't going to be a clean get-away. How could it be? There were at least two dozen men including Peacekeepers with Kingsley, planning the total take over of Panem, and the only way to run away was in view of them. It was why he did his best to keep Alice in front of him as they ran. He wasn't sure if the men had guns, but if they did? He'd be the one hit, and not her. Self-preservation wasn't nearly as important as keeping the girl in front of him alive. "Just keep running!" He huffed as the men started shouting. "We can lose them when we get out of the district. We just gotta hide in a crowd."

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poormadgirl
2012-08-09 07:17 am UTC (link)

Alice wasn't always good at compartmentalizing and putting aside what frightened her, but when she really needed to, she could. Or more accurately, when Christian needed her to. Despite the fact that they hadn't met each other all that long ago, they'd been perfectly in sync from the very beginning, and you could credit at least half of that to Finnick and Annie's inseparable bond the two shared. The other half was Christian and Alice, and the bond they'd formed themselves almost immediately, and on some level she felt she knew him better than he did. She could tell when he really needed her to be the stronger one, the voice of reason outside of his own head just like he seemed to immediately sense when she needed some extra strength from him. The two of them were getting pretty good at trading off that way, and this time was no different.

She took off running as soon as he did, and though Alice had never been much of a runner, she ran faster than she ever knew she could. They had to break away from each other's hands in order to get enough momentum, but Alice still kept as close to Christian as she could in the back of her mind. She knew he was staying just behind her on purpose, but she never ran too far in front of him anyway. She'd never leave him behind, not ever. The surprised and angry shouts of the Resistance members didn't stop her in her tracks, though they did make her blood run cold which only made her shiver more. Alice didn't look back, not even to see if they were running after them, she just kept running with Christian until they finally reached a populated area.

"This way!" Alice wheezed, nodding to Christian to veer them in the direction of a side street as soon as they ran through a group of people. Her legs were throbbing but feet kept pounding pavement until they reached the end of the street and Alice made a bee-line for the one adjacent to it, eventually leading them back into a crowd that immediately seemed to swallow Alice and Christian and Alice groped for some part of him in a moment of sincere panic amongst strangers. They weren't home free yet, there were still dangers here. "Christian?!"

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